The invention relates to a passenger chair which can be converted into a child chair, as indicated in the introduction to claim 1. A chair of this type can be employed in any kind of transport means, in which adults as well as children may be transported.
A passenger chair of the above-mentioned type is known from EP 0 770 516, where the first flap can be pivoted in the same rotational direction as the passenger back rest, i.e. the passenger chair""s back rest. After the passenger back rest has been pivoted into a front position wherein it rests on the passenger seat, the flap is pivoted relative to the passenger back rest, with the result that it projects forwards and upwards, forming a child""s back rest, i.e. a back rest for a child, enabling the child to sit on the passenger back rest""s rear surface.
Since the child""s back rest is only attached at one of its end portions to the passenger back rest, i.e. that it is cantilevered, it will have a relatively weak connection with the passenger back rest and will strongly tend to give way or yield if the vehicle in which the passenger chair is mounted is in a collision. The use of this passenger chair further requires that there should be sufficient space in front of it, in order to prevent the upper portion of the passenger back rest from striking against an object during its forward rotation. This may be a problem with chairs with a long back rest, e.g. in modern buses where the passenger chairs often cannot be moved forwards or backwards in order to provide more space. In addition to unlocking or releasing the passenger back rest, in the known chair several operations are required in order to convert the chair to a child chair.
The object of the invention is to provide a passenger chair with a built-in child chair which is encumbered to a less extent by the above-mentioned disadvantages.
The characteristics of the passenger chair according to the invention will be apparent from the characterising features indicated in the claims.